Category: Music

Posted on

Released 39 Years Ago Today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OeX9Rq9cFk&list=PLrpyDacBCh7D9LYtNqpCNxIAyLk4R26uA

Grace Jones: Warm Leatherette (1980)

My favorite—or maybe second favorite—Grace Jones album. I can never definitively say if this or Nightclubbing is my favorite. They're both so good they could easily have been released as a double LP.

Posted on

Recent Acquisitions

I saw this disc on an Instagram post and had to have it. It's always been a favorite film and soundtrack of mine, so seeing it on Tiffany-blue vinyl was all I needed. Tracking down this particular pressing was a bit more difficult. I bought one from Discogs.com that was listed as "blue vinyl," but it was actually royal blue, not this gorgeous teal.

Of course, I hadn't favorited it on Instagram, so tracking it down again was a bit of a chore, but after messaging the owner I got the specific record label and catalog number and was able to find it that way.

I don't know what prompted me to seek this one out, but I'm glad I did.

Posted on

Released 30 Years Ago Today


Madonna: Like a Prayer (1989)

And as I just mentioned to Ben, this anniversary also means I haven't had a Pepsi for 30 years as well.

When Pepsi dropped Madonna as a spokesperson, citing the "sacreligious" imagery in the Like a Prayer (Jeez, they had no idea what was coming, did they?) video, I swore I would never drink Pepsi again. And I haven't.

Posted on

Released 41 Years Ago Today


Sphinx: Sphinx (1978)

Under the name Sphinx, Alec R. Costandinos and Don Ray released an album with two side-long tunes, Judas Iscariot and Simon Peter, telling the story of the betrayal of Christ. Judas features some monk-like chanting, and a pretty simple ascending and descending theme, but as usual it goes through a bewildering series of tranformations, including what sounds like a bouzouki duel, before climbing to a rousing finale. It's also a good case study in how Costandinos keeps the rhythm section pumping out dance beats no matter how overwrought the orchestra gets. Simon Peter explores similar territory and about seven minutes in, it breaks into the most furious, kick-ass disco you're ever going to hear.

Much like Costandinos' work with Cerrone on Love in C-Minor, I was initially unaware of Don Ray's contributions to this album, but upon subsequent listening it's obvious.

And no doubt because of the subject matter, I don't recall ever hearing it played in the clubs. I only stumbled upon it because it appeared in a full page ad in Billboard Magazine along with Costandinos' other work.

Posted on

Released 35 Years Ago Today

Alan Parsons Project: Ammonia Avenue (1984)

I used to put Pipeline on my brand new Yamaha system back in 1986 (which was when I first got it on CD) and crank it.

I miss that system. Probably the best sounding reliable audio equipment I've ever owned.

Posted on

Music of My Muses

Since we're on the subject of Philip Glass…

Many years ago I put this CD on one afternoon and as this particular track from the disc was reaching its crescendo, I was moved to begin a painting. I was lucky in that I had a blank canvas available and almost before I knew what was happening I was on my feet and sketching. After a years-long absence, the Muses had returned—in force—and they weren't taking no for a response.

This is the result:

Posted on

Palate Cleanser

No, I did not watch the Shitgibbon vomit his fecal word salad this evening, but reading the recaps and comments was more than enough to set me off. I got through a couple postings, "marked all as read" in my Political News Feed, closed the program, put on my headphones, and started playing Akhnaten.

This music always takes somewhere else, far away from real life. It always has, and probably always will. It's a great escape.

And now you must excuse me while I take my leave. The Window of Appearances has just started…

Posted on

Ambient Moodiness

I call this writing music.

I have absolutely no idea what this movie is about. I've never heard of it. I stumbled across this soundtrack while searching for the soundtrack from God's Own Country and discovered the group A Winged Victory for the Sullen along the way. This is another one available on (red) vinyl that I'm going to have to add to my collection.

Listen here.

Posted on

The Best Laid Plans

Sometimes my best—or at least what I consider my best— writing ideas come to me when I'm laying in bed wide awake at 4 am, so I jot them down on my phone's notepad for further consideration when I'm actually in a position to sit and write.

One of those ideas was "The summer of '84." I was 26 and young, dumb, and full of…exuberance. It was a great summer filled of friends, unforgettable music, a lot of sex, and as it wound down, enough drama to last a lifetime.

I sat down yesterday to give it a go, and after several hours I read through the tome and thought, "This is rubbish. No one is going to care about any of this." I realized what may have been important to me and my need to share it all in minute detail may not be at all interesting to anyone else.

Except maybe the music. There was Madonna and her sophomore release Like a Virgin, but also The Thompson Twins, Cyndi Lauper, Laura Branigan, Prince, The Pointer Sisters, Lime, Quarterflash, Pat Benatar, Simple Minds, and dance-oriented one (or two) hit wonders like Paul Parker, Animotion, The Twins, Waterfront Home, Talk Talk, Lisa, and dozens more.

https://youtu.be/9dmTbLI5mA4

All I have to do is hear any of these songs and I'm transported back to my little top floor apartment at Crestwood and it all comes flooding back to me: my first brand new car, the architectural studio where I worked, Sunday afternoon Beer Busts at The Connection, cruising ASU, buying my first hifi cassette deck (I was a late bloomer), my friend John Fortenberry and one piece of advice he imparted that stayed with me for years ("Don't yell 'Baby' out the car window at hot guys. It's rude. Yell 'DADDY!'"), Jim, Jack, Brett—none of whom are still with us—and of course Frank—an ASU boy who ended up moving in with me and served more drama than I'd ever experienced.

It looks like I just wrote about the summer of '84 after all—and hopefully without boring anyone to death.